The present invention relates generally to the manufacture and handling of micro-objects such as shaped tool heads or tips, and more particularly to the manufacture of miniature tools incorporating or consisting of shaped structures.
Manufacturing and other processes pertaining to scanning probe microscopy, nanomachining, micromachining, machining, optics, biotechnology, and biomedicine often require highly specialized miniature tools. Such tools typically consist of a shaped tool head formed and parted from a diamond or other hard material work piece and mounted on a body or handle. Depending on the particular application, the spatial orientation of the tool head relative to the tool body, once mounted thereupon, may be critical to the usefulness of the miniature tool.
Execution of present methods for handling, aligning and mounting small structures, particularly structures smaller then 200 microns (referred to as micro-objects), is highly difficult and often results in uncertain orientation of the fine tool head structure relative to the tool body. Further precise alignment and rigid coupling between the tool head and tool body is an important and is a real issue which has emerged in the real world application of this invention. Additionally, the miniature tool head, once separated from the work piece from which it is formed or lapped, is easily misplaced in an attempt at further manipulation. Additionally, present methods employed in attempts at miniature tool head mass production are unable to provide consistently accurate precision in cutting or parting off the tool head. It is further desirable to be able to hand off the tool head to a second, third or n manipulator (reference structure) engaging the head at or near the cut or elsewhere along the body of the work piece or tool piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,931,710, issued Aug. 23, 2005 to Victor B. Kley for “Manufacturing of Micro-Objects Such as Miniature Diamond Tool Tips” discloses techniques for producing and affixing a micro-object to a mounting structure at a desired relative orientation. In a disclosed embodiment, a shaped portion of a work piece is caused to become embedded in a reference structure at a first relative orientation. The work piece is parted into first and second portions, the first portion of which includes the embedded shaped portion of the work piece and defines the micro-object. The reference structure is then aligned with the mounting structure at a second relative orientation, the first and second relative orientations defining the desired relative orientation of the micro-object and the mounting structure. The micro-object is bonded to the mounting structure while the micro-object remains embedded in the reference structure and the reference structure remains aligned with the mounting structure at the second relative orientation. The micro-object is then separated from the reference structure, whereupon the micro-object remains in the desired relative orientation with respect to the mounting structure.
Further, where it is also desired to have the mounted micro-object at a particular location relative to the mounting structure, the work piece is embedded at a first relative position on the reference structure, and the reference structure is aligned at a second relative position with respect to the mounting structure. The first and second relative positions thus define the desired location of the micro-object on the mounting structure. It is pointed out that the reference structure and the embedded shaped portion of the work piece after parting represents a useful article of manufacture as an intermediate to the ultimate manufacture of the composite article comprising the micro-object bonded to the mounting structure.